source: www.cannondale.com

7/10/01 - As part of our never-ending testing program, we’ve been taking our ATVs to area dirt drag strips to find out how well we stack up against the competition. A few weeks back, for example, we took a totally stock machine to the New Paris, Pennsylvania track where test rider Andy Zeth and his Cannondale won both the 500 and 700cc classes on the 1/8th mile course.

This past weekend, we brought Andy and a slightly modified Cannibal to the Blair-Bedford track. The Cannibal had been adapted to a 454 bore with a 13.8 compression ratio, and we’d lowered the ride height a bit. Other than that, the only modification to Andy’s Cannibal was the addition of a wheelie bar that was designed by Brian Dively, fabricated by Dave Fleegle, and welded by Yvette Hahn, all of whom work at our Bedford, Pennsylvania motorcycle plant.

Going head-to-head with our Cannibal were several heavily modified Honda 400EXs, Yamaha Raptor 660s, and DS650 Bombardiers. So how did we do? The Cannibal beat everything in the 700cc class, covering the 500 foot course in a blistering 7.6 seconds and hitting 72 miles-per-hour! To check out the winning machine, complete with wheelie bar, click on the headline above.